The quarry

Originally a large steam driven chainsaw mounted on rails was used to cut the stone from the quarry floor. This saw was later converted to diesel and more recently was power driven. This method has now made way for 3 metre circular blades with tungsten tips. These saws operate hydraulically on Parkside’s excavators.

Once cutting is complete the large 2 tonne slabs of Oamaru Stone are broken out of the quarry floor, loaded onto trucks and carted to the factory approximately 400 metres away. These blocks are then individually loaded onto trolleys which are used to feed the three breakdown circular saws. The 1.80 metre tungsten tipped saws cut the stone to the required size before the stone is stacked and strapped onto pallets ready for transport to site.